THE BIZ MARKIE EXPERIENCE × BISCO SMITH OPENS IN NEW YORK @ Cycol Gallery

​

​

NEW YORK, August 31, 2026:

Following a private opening hosted by Tara Hall on August 31 in celebration of Biz Markie Day in New York City, The Biz Markie Experience × Bisco Smith opens to the public at Cycol Gallery beginning September 1, 2026, for a limited time.

​

The Biz Markie Experience × Bisco Smith brings contemporary work by New York artist Bisco Smith into the same space as photography, personal artifacts and archival material from the life and career of Biz Markie.

​

At the center of the exhibition is SELECT CUTS, a limited edition fine art photography series featuring images of Biz photographed by legendary hip hop photographer George DuBose during the 1986 Make the Music With Your Mouth, Biz sessions.

​

The photographs are some of the earliest professional studio portraits of Biz Markie. Taken before Just a Friend and the international career that followed, they capture Biz at the very beginning, when the personality and visual identity the world would come to know were first taking shape.

​​

Produced from the original photographic archive and presented with the authorization of the Biz Markie Estate, SELECT CUTS makes this early body of work available as strictly limited fine art editions.

​

INSIDE THE ARCHIVE

Alongside SELECT CUTS, the exhibition opens up a portion of Biz Markie’s personal collection, with artifacts and objects that offer a more intimate look at the person behind the records.

​

Rather than presenting Biz solely through his music, the experience gives visitors a chance to encounter pieces of the world he actually lived in, collected and created around.

​

Bisco Smith’s work adds another layer to the exhibition, placing a living New York artist in conversation with the archive and creating a connection between different generations of the city’s creative culture.

 

THE EXPERIENCE CONTINUES

The previous Biz Markie Experience was featured in Rolling Stone Magazine. This latest edition continues the Estate’s work of bringing Biz’s archive into the world through exhibitions, photography, artifacts and experiences.

​

Following the August 31 private Biz Markie Day opening, The Biz Markie Experience × Bisco Smith will open to the public beginning September 1, 2026, at Cycol Gallery for a limited time.

​

Visitors can reserve a day to experience the exhibition at:

Cycol Gallery
91 Allen St
New York, NY

 

ABOUT THE BIZ MARKIE EXPERIENCE

Founded and run by Biz's widow Tara Hall, the Biz Markie Experience is an Estate-led platform created to preserve, present and expand the cultural legacy of Biz Markie through his personal archive, photography, art, music, objects and experiences.

 

ABOUT SELECT CUTS

SELECT CUTS is a limited edition fine art photography collection drawn from George DuBose’s 1986 Make the Music With Your Mouth, Biz sessions. Presented by the Biz Markie Estate, the collection preserves some of the earliest professional studio portraits of Biz Markie as collectible fine art editions.